1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a golf bag having a bottom unit diagonally attached to an inclined lower end of an elongated bag body and, more particularly, to a golf bag, in which: a bag body is configured such that the front part of the bag body is longer than the rear part, so that the lower end of the bag body is diagonally inclined forwards and downwards at an angle of inclination equal to or greater than a rearward leaning angle of the golf bag when the golf bag is placed on a support surface; a bottom unit is attached to the diagonally inclined lower end of the bag body such that the bottom unit is diagonally inclined relative to the axis of the bag body, with a hook protrusion provided on the lower part of the outer surface of the rear part of the bottom unit; a front support rib, having a length shorter than the length of either the front or rear part of the bag body, is installed on the front part of the bag body; a pair of support legs is coupled to the rear part of the upper end of the golf bag; a leg actuating arm is coupled to the support legs so as to extend or collapse the legs; and an arm holding flap is attached to the rear part of the bag body so as to hold the lower part of the leg actuating arm. In the golf bag, because the bottom unit is attached to the diagonally inclined lower end of the elongated bag body, the bottom unit is diagonally inclined relative to the axis of the bag body, so that, when the golf bag is put down on a support surface, the lower surface of the bottom unit comes into horizontal contact with the support surface, while the bag body leans rearwards at a leaning angle and can be maintained in the rearward leaning state by the support legs.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of conventional golf bags having bottom units diagonally attached to inclined ends of elongated bag bodies is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,464 (herein below, referred to simply as the first cited reference). The conventional golf bag disclosed in the first cited reference is configured such that the lower surface of a bottom unit of the golf bag can be horizontally placed on a support surface, but the action for extending or collapsing a pair of support legs is executed using an actuating rope connected to both a shoulder strap and the support legs. Furthermore, the sidewall of the bottom unit of the golf bag leans at the same leaning angle as that of the bag body.
Another example of conventional golf bags having bottom units diagonally attached to inclined ends of elongated bag bodies is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,788 (herein below, referred to simply as the second cited reference). In the same manner as that described for the first cited reference, the golf bag disclosed in the second cited reference is configured such that the lower surface of a bottom unit comes into horizontal contact with a support surface and the action for extending or collapsing a pair of support legs is executed using an actuating rope connected to both a shoulder strap and the support legs. However, in the second cited reference, the actuating rope is connected to both the shoulder strap and the legs by a handle, unlike the first cited reference. Furthermore, the sidewall of the bottom unit of the golf bag leans at the same leaning angle as that of the bag body in the same manner as that described for the first cited reference.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,235 (herein below, referred to simply as the third cited reference) discloses a golf bag in which the lower surface of a bottom unit is horizontally placed on a support surface in the same manner as those described for the first and second cited references. However, unlike the first and second cited references, the golf bag disclosed in the third cited reference does not use any actuating rope connected to the shoulder strap and the support legs to extend or collapse the support legs. To extend or collapse the support legs, the golf bag is inclined in the direction of the legs and, at the same time, the jointed position, at which the upper ends of the support legs are jointed to the rear part of the top of the golf bag, is moved downwards, and a leg actuating arm coupled by a hinge to the upper ends of the support legs is pressurized downwards at a contact part thereof at which the leg actuating arm comes into contact with a support surface, so that the upper end of the leg actuating arm jointed to the support legs is biased upwards, thus extending the legs outwards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,789 (herein below, referred to simply as the fourth cited reference) discloses a golf bag in which the lower surface of a bottom unit comes into horizontal contact with a support surface in the same manner as described for the first and second cited references. However, unlike the first and second cited references, the golf bag disclosed in the fourth cited reference does not use any actuating rope, which is connected to both the shoulder strap and the support legs, to extend or collapse the support legs. To extend or collapse the support legs, the golf bag is inclined in the direction of the legs and, at the same time, the jointed position, at which the upper ends of the support legs are jointed to the rear part of the top of the golf bag, is moved downwards, and a leg actuating arm coupled by a hinge to the upper ends of the support legs is pressurized downwards at a contact part thereof at which the leg actuating arm comes into contact with a support surface, so that the upper end of the leg actuating arm jointed to the support legs is biased upwards, thus extending the legs outwards. Described in detail, when the golf bag disclosed in the fourth cited reference is inclined in the direction having the legs, the lower end of the rear part of the bag body having the legs is folded and collapsed with wrinkles, so that the leg actuating arm pushes the jointed upper ends of the support legs outwards, thus extending the legs in the same manner as that described for the third cited reference. The third and fourth cited references are equal to each other in which, when the golf bag leans in the direction of the legs, the lower end of the rear part of the bag body having the legs is folded and collapsed with wrinkles, so that the leg actuating arm pushes the jointed upper ends of the support legs outwards, thus extending the legs. However, unlike the third cited reference, using a conventional bottom unit having a constant height, the fourth cited reference uses a specifically constructed bottom unit, in which the front part of the sidewall is higher than the rear part, thus forming a trapezoidal cross-section. In the golf bag of the fourth cited reference, the lower surface of the bottom unit forms a horizontal surface, while the upper end of the bottom unit is inclined downwards and rearwards. Furthermore, in the fourth cited reference, a surplus bottom structure having a triangular cross-section is provided on the rear part of the lower surface of the bottom unit, so that, when the golf bag leans rearwards, the front part of the bottom unit is not undesirably raised upwards. Furthermore, the general function and general construction of the golf bag disclosed in the fourth cited reference remain the same as those described for the third cited reference, however, the bottom units of the golf bags disclosed in the third and fourth cited references have different shapes. The bag bodies of the third and fourth cited references necessarily have different shapes, which vary according to the shapes of the bottom units.